Knitting machine



May. 5, 1942. J. SIRMAY KNITTING MACHINE 2 Sheeis-Sheet 1 Filed lay 23, 1939 EN OR 963m ATTORNEYS May 5, 1942.

J. SIRMAY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 23, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNV NTOR D Y M? ATTORNEYS Patented May 5, 1942 xm'rrmc momma Julius Sir-may, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Jacquard Knitting Machine 00., Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New York Application May 23, 1939, Serial No. 275,303

7 Claims.

My inventionrelates to knitting machines, and especially circular knitting machines, utilizing paper patterns to control the operations of needles, sinkers, pressers, warp thread guides or other stitch-formin elements and wherein the paper patterns or sections of the pattern are distributed substantially along or around the bank of stitch-forming elements. For conciseness, each paper pattern or section of the whole pattern is referred to hereafter as a pattern.

In such arrangements heretofore it has been necessary to space each support and its associated mechanism from the adjacent pattern supports and mechanisms in order to accommodate certain of the operating parts and the supporting frames, etc. With circular machines, suflicient room has been provided between adjacent pattern supports heretofore by placing the supports at some distance from the bank of controlled stitch-forming elements, so that they lie, as it were, in a circle having a circumference sufliciently greater than the circumference of the controlled bank to provide the needed space between adjacent patterns. In various instances, and especially when the knitting machine is provided with a considerable number of feeds, this practice requires the pattern supports to be placed further -from the main body of the knitting machine than is desirable; in other words, for example, the use of paper patterns may require that the machine have such an overall diameter as to occupy more floor space than is desirable.

My invention permits a greater number of patterns to be assembled in a given space, or in a line of a given length, and thus tends to eliminate the fault of the prior practices. The preferred form of my invention, applied to the control of latch needles, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic plan view of a portion of ,a knitting machine embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof substantially on the line IIII thereof.

In Fig. 2 a conventional stationary needle cylinder l, latch needles 2 with individual jacks 3 sliding in slots in the outer wall of the cylinder, rotating cam ring 4, base 5 supporting the needle cylinder and an upper base 6 carried by posts 1 to support the cam ring 4, will be recognized; the base 5 may be mounted on legs, not shown, as usual. In accordance with a present practice with paper patterns, levers Ill, say one for each jack 3 and its associated needle 2, extend underneath the respective Jacks, and levers or couplers ll, one for each lever l0, rest at their inner ends on the levers I while their outer ends carry individual spring-pressed feeler pins l2 to feel the pattern l3 of paper or other light thin flexible material carried by a drum ll, Ha, Mb, etc.; each pattern B has the form of an endless belt, and is advanced by pins on its drum as the drum is turned. The pattern-supporting drums M, Ma, etc. are distributed around the axis of the needle cylinder (Fig. l), and each pattern I3 (and its respective drum M, la, b, etc.) serves a group of the couplers ll (Fig. 1), and each pattern is perforated to permit the respective feelers I2 to pass through it whenever a needle is to be raised. Each drum has longitudinal slots 15 to receive feelers l2 that pass through the pattern. A cam or cams it (one for each feed of the machine whereat action of the needles is to be controlled) are carried by the cam ring 4 and accordingly rotate with it. Normally the inner ends of the couplers ll lie outside the path of the cams Hi as shown in Fig. 2, but as any feeler pin I2 finds a hole, punched through its pattern l3, this feeler I2 is thereupon thrust by its spring into a groove l5 of the drum so that the subsequent turning of the drum a step ahead to bring a new pattern call (e. g. row of perforations) to the feelers of the group thrusts the respective coupler lever ll inwardly and into the path of a cam l6. As this cam it passes, it then bears on such a coupler, depresses its inner end, and thereby turns the corresponding lever I0 and raises the corresponding jack 3, or both jack and needle, and thereby (directly or indirectly) causes the corresponding needle to be placed in yarn-taking or other desired position. As a cam l6 depresses the inner end of a coupler II, it thereby raises the outer end and accordingly raises the coupler feeler l2 from the drum slot and pattern; usually the rear ends of the cams ii are so shaped as to return the couplers to their outer positions again. Stitch cams (not shown, one for, say, each feed), carried by the cam ring 4, engage with the butts ll of the raised needles to retract them again, and, say, return the corresponding jacks 3 to their lower positions and thereby return the actuated levers l0 also to their positions illustrated in Fig. 2. In this manner, the needles are controlled selectively.

Each coupled H is provided with, in efiect, a hinging slot 20, and a rod 2 I, one foreach group of couplers ll, extends through the slots 20 of its group; the couplers turn on these rods when acted on by the cams l6. Springs 22, one for each coupler II (most of which are omitted from Fig. l for clarity); are connected to hooks 23 on the couplers and a rod 24 common to the members of each group; these springs 22 retain the couplers in these outer positions normally, and they may return, or assist in returning, the couplers to these outer positions.v A notch 25, in the inner end of each coupler II, receivesthe'cam I6 when the coupler is thrust inwardly by a call of the pattern, so that the cam holds the coupler against retraction by its spring 22 until the cam It has completed its action.

The mode of operation of the parts above described, including the seriatim step-by-step advance of the pattern drums (and thereby of the patterns on them) and the time relation between the passage of each cam it over a group of coupiers i I and the advance of the pattern I3 serving that group, is so well known that it need not be described further.

Heretofore each pattern I3, its support (drum or otherwise) and associated group of couplers has constituted a separate unit separately attachable to the knitting machine as is well known. Each pattern and pattern support has been placed tangential to that part of the needle cylinder directly opposite the center of the respective pattern drum, for example. According to my present invention however, briefly, a plurality of the pattern supports (drums or otherwise) and their associated groups of couplers are assembled into a unit, and are held and attached to the knitting machine by the same framework structure (of one kind or another), thus reducing the number of units to be assembled around the machine axis in spaced relation to each other and achieving space economy in various other ways that will become apparent hereafter. r

In the arrangement shown in-the drawings, the framework of each of the units comprises a bracket having a portion 30 extending radially away from the vertical center line of the needle cylinder, and integral therewith a pad or base portion 3| adapting the bracket to be secured to the knitting machine; 1. e. the portion 3I is constructed to rest on the base of the machine and be secured to this base by bolts or otherwise. Preferably the pattern supports of each unit are arranged in a straight line, e. g. a shaft member 32 extends through and is fastened in each bracket extension 30, and is of sufficient length to carry two of the pattern drums, such as I4 and, Ma. These two pattern drums are rotatable on the shaft member 32, independently one of the other; preferably the shaft 32 is provided with an enlargement 33 at each end of each drum on which the drum bears and'screws and washers 34 prevent the drums slipping off the ends of the shaft. Each of the drums is provided with mechanism for turning it step by step at the proper times and such mechanisms of each group that is to say, other than at the extreme outer ends of the drums which face the drums of the neighboring control units. Preferably also such mechanisms associated with each group of pattern supports are placed parallel to each other (this being permitted by, for example, the arrangement of the pattern supports of a group in a straight line), rather than wholly at angles to each other. Thus in the construction illustrated, parallel Geneva wheels 36 or 31 are attached to the adjacent ends of the two drums I4 and Ila and their cooperating pin wheels 38 and 39, also parallel to each other, are mounted, say for independent rotation, on a shaft 40; these pin wheels are driven by gears 4I fastened to the adjacent shaft unit 35. In order to render the pattern mechanism operative or inoperative at will, I usually mount the pin wheels 33 and 39 so that they can be pushed lengthwise along their common shaft 40, individually, to such an extent that the pins of these pin wheels can be withdrawn from the paths of the Geneva wheels 36 and 31; in Fig. 1 the pin wheel 38 is shown in driving position while the pin wheel 39 is shown in inoperative position; in order to keep the pin wheels, when out of action, properly timed to resume operations again, I usually make the faces of the driving gears M long enough to continue their meshing engagement with the pin wheels 38 and 39 (or vice versa) even when the latter are in their inoperative positions as also shown in Fig. 1. The pin wheel supporting shaft 40 can be carried on brackets M attached to or integral with the bracket 3Il--3l. When a pin wheel is in its operative position (see pin wheel 38) one complete rotation of the pin wheel causes its pin to enter a slot of the Geneva wheel and advance the Geneva wheel and thereby advance the respective pattern one step, thereby (usually) thrusting a new selection of the respective group of couplers H inwardly into the path of a needle-raising cam I6 (as determined by the placement of holes in the pattern underneath the feeler pins I2 of that coupler group), as intimated above and as will be understood from prior practices. In Fig. 1, certain of the couplers I I associated with the pattern of the drum I4 are shown as having been thrust forward into the cam path; those couplers II of the pattemdrum or support I 4a that previously were thrust inwardly for action by the cam I6 shown at the right of Fig. 1 have all been returned to their outer positions and this drum I 4a is about to he stepped around a step to advance newly selected couplers of its group and bring a further pattern call to its feelers. This also will be understood from prior practices.

At their ends, the rods 2I (one for each pattern support), which extend through the slots 20 in of pattern supports can be carried on the respective framework also. When the drums are ro- I tated by a power shaft, as in the present instance,

a single shaft 35., or unit of the whole shaft, placed parallel to the drums of a unit will serve to turn 'all the drums of such unit. Conveniently the the couplers I I and on which these couplers hinge as the inner ends of the couplers are thrust down by a cam I6, preferably rest in vertical slots in the frame structure as illustrated-at 45 for example; at their adjacent ends these rods 2| may rest in such a slot 45 in the main frame exten sion 30 while the other ends of the rods rest in .extensions from the framework structure. The spring-supporting rods 24 can be carried by brackets attached to the framework, e. g. brackets'46. To change the pattern on a drum, the lever carrying rod 2I of that drum is lifted, thus lifting all the feeler pins I 2 from the corresponding pattern and permitting another pattern I3 to be substituted. For convenience, I usually provide spring-pressed buttons 41. which project slightly above the ends' of the rods 2I when the latter are in their lower or operative positions, and on which the rods 2| can be allowed to rest while the operator is changing patterns. The rod 48 attached to the outer end of the frame extension 30 is intended to support acomb, so called, or set of walls to separate and maintain the outer ends of the couplers l I in proper spaced relation; for clarity of illustration, this comb and likewise other .combs at appropriate places along the lengths of the couplers H (the construction and disposition of which will be understood from prior practices) have been omitted from the present drawings.

It will be understood also that only a few of the couplers II are indicated in Fig. '1, the remainder (and also the feeler pins) having been omitted for simplicity and in order not to confuse the reading of the drawings.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, m invention is not limited to the detailsof construction and operation described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, except as appears hereafter in the claims.

I claim:

1. A knitting machine having a circular bank of stitch-forming elements and a plurality of control units, to control the operations of said stitch-forming elements, distributed around the axis of said bank, each of said control units including at least two supports for patterns and a framework structure having a portion extending in a direction substantially radial to said bank to carry the pattern supports of the respective unit and extending between said two pattern supports, said two pattern supports being mounted on opposite sides of said portion of the framework structure and extending from the respectively adjacent sides of said portion and being carried wholly by said portion.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, in combination with means at each control unit to advance the patterns of the supports of the respective unit, said advancing means of each unit being located inwardly from both ends of its unit a distance at least equal to the width of one pattern.

' 3. The subject matter of claim 1 in combination with means at each control unit to advance the patterns of the supports of the respective unit, the pattern supports of each control unit being located in substantially a straight line and the pattern-advancing means of each unit being located inwardly from both ends of its control unit.

4. The subject matter of claim 1 characterized by the fact that the supports for the patterns of each control unit are located in substantially a straight line, and there is a separate means for advancing each pattern separately, and that the said pattern-advancing means of each control unit are located substantially parallel to each other. 5. An unitary pattern device to control the operations of stitch-forming elements of a knitting machine, comprising two pattern supports disposed substantially end to end, a bracket having a portion extending between theadjacent ends of said two pattern supports, said supports projecting from the opposite sides of said portion of the bracket and being supported by and entirely at said sides of said portion of the bracket, and couplers carried by said bracket to transmit calls of the patterns of said pattern supports.

6. The subject matter of claim 5, characterized by the fact that a member to advance the patterns on said pattern supports is carried by said bracket, and means are provided through which said member advances the patterns, said means being located adjacent said portion of the bracket.

7. In a knitting machine having a circular bank of stitch-forming elements, a plurality of pairs of supports for patterns to control the operations of stitch-forming elements of said bank, the supports of each pair being located substantially tangentially to said bank and the ends of substantially each pair being located closely adjacent ends of two other pairs, a bracket for and carrying each of said pairs of pattern supports mounted on the knitting machine, each of said brackets having a portion extending between the pattern supports of the pair it carries and the pattern supports of each pair projecting from opposite sides of said portion of the bracket which carries them and being carried entirely thereby, whereby the spaces between adjacent pairs of pattern supports are left free of bracket portions projecting outwardly from the machine, a driving device for each of said pairs of pattern supports, and means through which each driving device advances the patterns of the pair of pattern supports which the respective driving device serves, said means being located adjacent said portions of the brackets whereby the spaces between adjacent pairs of pattern supports are left free of means for advancing the patterns.

JULIUS SIRMAY. 

